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PlainSpell

overweight

/ˌoʊvɚˈweɪt/adjective, noun, verb

overweight is spelled O-V-E-R-W-E-I-G-H-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 5.5 times per million words in written English, the 10,519th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, overweight means “Having a higher weight, especially body fat, than what is generally considered healthy for a given body type and height” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in overweight?

Letters10: O-V-E-R-W-E-I-G-H-T
Syllables3 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing5.5 times per million words; the 10,519th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is overweight?

Overweight appears 5.5 times per million words in written English, the 10,519th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce overweight?

  • UK /ˌəʊvəˈweɪt/
  • US /ˌoʊvɚˈweɪt/

As a noun (“An excess of weight”): /ˈəʊvəweɪt/, /ˈoʊvɚweɪt/.

Overweight has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-overweight_(adj).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-overweight_(noun).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with overweight?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as overweight from its last stressed vowel (/eɪt/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of overweight

  • more overweight comparative
  • most overweight superlative
  • overweights plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • overweighting participle, present
  • overweighted participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does overweight mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Having a higher weight, especially body fat, than what is generally considered healthy for a given body type and height.

    Before her diet, Jane was noticeably overweight, but she shed five kilos in the next two months.

  2. 2

    Weighing more than what is allowed for safety or legal commerce.

  3. 3

    Having a portfolio relatively heavily invested in.

    Our portfolio is very overweight (in) Asian technology stocks.

noun

  1. 1

    An excess of weight.

  2. 2

    The condition of being overweight.

  3. 3

    An overweight person.

  4. 4

    A security or class of securities in which one has a heavy concentration.

    Apple common stock is one of our overweights.

verb

  1. 1

    To weigh down: to put too heavy a burden on.

  2. 2

    To place excessive weight or emphasis on; to overestimate the importance of.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Overweight in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchen surpoids (of a person, heavier than is healthy)
Germanübergewichtig (of a person, heavier than is healthy), überladen (of a vehicle, weighing more than is allowed), Übergewicht (excess of weight)
Portuguesecom excesso de peso, com sobrepeso (of a person, heavier than is healthy), sobrecarregado (of a vehicle, weighing more than is allowed), sobrepeso (excess of weight)
Spanishcon sobrepeso, tener sobrepeso (of a person, heavier than is healthy), con exceso de peso, con pesantez excesiva, con demasiada pesadura, tener exceso de pesadez (of a vehicle, weighing more than is allowed)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does overweight come from?

From over- + weight.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after overweight